The following is a tabulation of some prior art that presently appears relevant:
U.S. PatentsPat. No.Issue DatePatentee4,878,585Nov. 7, 1989Orestano5,107,995Apr. 28, 1992Simpson5,141,116Aug. 25, 1992MojicaUS 2009/0001034 A1Jan. 1, 2009HazanD 396,371Jul. 28, 1998OliverUS 2007/0125731 A1Jun. 7, 2007WatermanD 650460 S1Dec. 13, 2011KrolForeign Patent Application PublicationForeign Doc. Nr.TypePublication DatePatenteeWO 2007/070918 A1PCTJun. 28, 2007BuchmannWO 2006/002456 A1PCTJan. 12, 2006Ocean & Earth
Storage of sports boards such as surfboards, skateboards, snowboards, wake boards, kite boards, skim boards, body boards, snow skis, and water skis when not in use can be cumbersome. Many owners have multiple boards of/for multiple types and uses. Without an organized storage system, many owners typically lean their boards against a wall or in a corner. This can be problematic for the following reasons: including it takes up floor space which could serve other uses, the boards can fall over or slide out at the bottom resulting in their damage or damage to adjacent surroundings, it is difficult to grab a board in the middle of a pile for use without removing several other boards, and it is difficult of store different board types in the same area. Other typical storage options include building or installing racks to stack them vertically along a wall which still resulting in loss of floor space, some potential for them to fall over causing damage, and it is difficult of store different board types in one rack type. Other options include wall or ceiling mounted racks which store the boards in a horizontal orientation. This method can be better than not using a rack but still uses a lot of wall or ceiling area to store a minimal number of boards. Further, the racks have to be mechanically attached to the wall or ceiling and are not easily relocated, and can be expensive to purchase and install.
Hanging boards vertically has the advantage of utilizing the upper area of wall space, so the floor area below is less obstructed and can be used for other uses. Also, the boards have less potential of falling or sliding out resulting in damage; and it is easier to grab a board in the middle of a group of boards. One elevated rod can be used to support multiple board types without having to purchase and install various types of dedicated racks. In addition, many owners like to display their board for view in an elevated position.
There is prior art which can be used to hang a surfboard in a vertical position, such as PCT International Publication Number WO 2007/070918 A1 by Buchmann. However, it cannot be used with fins installed on the board. This prior art is primarily used by retail shops to support new boards on display until they are purchased and the fins are installed. Most board owners do not regularly remove their fins making this prior art not useful for most end board users. This prior art requires mechanical attachment to the board via the screws which otherwise attach the fins. Having to use the screws to install and remove it is inconvenient and time consuming. Further, this prior art system cannot be used to support boards with permanent, fixed or glassed-on fins.
There is prior art which can be used to hang a skateboards in a vertical position. Most of this prior art consist of racks or supports requiring mechanical attachment to walls and is not very versatile. There is a design (U.S. Pat. No. Des. 396,371 by Oliver) which consists of a metal wire bent to receive the ends of the truck axles at the front of the board; however it needs to be pre-hung on an elevated surface prior to supporting the board. Further, it does not have an open top hook so it cannot be easily used to raise and hang a skateboard along an elevated rod, and it does not firmly attach to the skate board so it will not remain in place while the board is raised, lowered or moved to another hanging location.
Prior art for snow board storage includes dedicated wall or ceiling mounted racks which have to be mechanically attached, cannot easily be relocated once installed, cannot support other types of sports boards or skis, and most do not have the benefits of vertically suspending the boards as mentioned above. There is a design (U.S. Pat. No. D 650460 S1 by Krol) which consists of plastic knobs which require mechanical attachment to a wall. These can be used to suspend a snowboard vertically but, can only support snowboards, require screw attachment to a wall, and the snow board must be installed in a flat orientation to the wall.
The same disadvantages mentioned above generally apply to currently available storage systems for sports boards and skis types not mentioned above.
Advantages:
Accordingly several advantages of one or more aspects are as follows: to provide a sports board hanger which can quickly and easily be attached and detached to a board and enable it to be suspended from an elevated rod, hook, peg or other object, that attaches without damaging the board, that does not require disassemble of any of the boards components to use, that can be reused, that can be used to support boards with the fins installed and with fixed or glassed-on fin systems, that can be used to display boards for viewing, and that attaches firmly to the board so that the hanger will remain in place with the top hook erectly protecting while the board is raised or lowered from hanging. This is advantageous as an elevated attachment point can be much higher than the user's typical reach, enabling sports boards to be hung at a higher location without use of a ladder or other assistance. Hanging the boards higher frees up usable space at the lower area of the room. Further, one elevated rod can to used support a variety of different types of sports boards such as surfboards, skateboards, snowboards, skis and others without having to construct, purchase and mechanically attach various dedicated racks for specific board types. Other advantages of one or more aspects will be apparent from consideration of the drawings and ensuing descriptions.